The Golden Rule: Don't Make Me Think

Steve Krug's famous rule 'Don't Make Me Think' isn't about dumbing things down. It's about removing unnecessary mental effort. Every time a user has to pause and figure something out — 'Is this clickable?', 'Where do I go next?', 'What does this icon mean?' — you've added friction.

The best interfaces feel obvious. Not because they're simple, but because they use patterns people already know. The sign of great UX isn't that it's minimal — it's that it's effortless.

Logos go top-left and link home. Navigation sits at the top or left side. Blue underlined text is a link. Shopping carts have a cart icon in the top-right. Search bars have a magnifying glass.

Every time you deviate from a convention, you're spending the user's mental energy. Innovation in UI patterns rarely pays off — users don't want to learn your clever new navigation paradigm. They want to find what they came for.

The only time to break conventions is when you have strong data showing your alternative is measurably better for your specific users.

Users don't read pages — they scan them. In about 3 seconds, they decide if this page has what they need. Visual hierarchy determines what they see in those 3 seconds.

The hierarchy tools: size (bigger = more important), weight (bolder = more important), color (higher contrast = more important), position (top-left gets seen first in LTR layouts), and whitespace (more space around something = more important).

One primary action per screen. One headline that explains the page. Everything else supports those two things.

The best way to improve most UIs: remove things. Every element on screen competes for attention. That decorative illustration? The 'featured' badge? The third CTA? The subtitle under the subtitle?

Ask of every element: 'If I remove this, does the user fail to complete their task?' If not, it's a candidate for removal. Simple doesn't mean minimal — it means nothing unnecessary. A dashboard can be complex and still feel simple if everything serves a clear purpose.